U.S. asks appeals court to freeze military detention ruling

(Reuters) - The U.S. government on Monday asked for an emergency stay of a federal judge's ruling against a section of a law that activists and journalists had said could permit their indefinite military detention.

The U.S. Justice Department said the ruling against a portion of the National Defense Authorization Act's "Homeland Battlefield" provisions would hurt America's ability to fight wars overseas.

The ruling was issued last week by Judge Katherine Forrest in favor of a group of activists and reporters who said they feared being detained under the law signed by President Barack Obama in December.

The provision authorizes indefinite military detention for people deemed to have "substantially supported" al Qaeda, the Taliban or "associated forces."